Podcast Episode 40

Professor Gerard Carruthers is Francis Hutcheson Chair of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow where he’s leading on a major project 'Editing Robert Burns for the 21st Century'. He’s General Editor of the new Oxford Collected Works of Robert Burns, Co-Director of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies and also secretary of the Robert Burns Ellisland Trust. In our conversation with Gerry he tells us more about Burns and Dumfries and how we can celebrate Ellisland and its treasures for now and for the future.

Gerda Stevenson is an award-winning writer, actor, director and singer-songwriter, who has worked in theatre, television, radio, film, and opera throughout Britain and abroad. Her poetry, drama and prose have been widely published, staged, and broadcast. We talk about her second poetry collection, QUINES: Poems in tribute to women of Scotland, which charts the contribution made to Scottish history and society by remarkable women, from Neolithic times to the 21st century, starring singers, politicians, fish-gutters, queens, dancers, marine engineers and many more. Also, as one of the foremost performers of Burns, we discuss her relationship to his work, some favourites, and a few top performance tips for the brave souls gearing up for Burns Night 2021 style.